cicer | (no subject)

I’ve been really focusing on my own writing lately, trying to pick it apart and isolate what’s working and what’s not, and all the little quirks and odd tendencies I have with writing.

So, I snagged this idea and meme from

louiselux. It’s that fairly-common writing meme, but instead of asking other people what they think about my writing style, I’m offering my own answers. I’d love to hear what you have to say though, so if you have any comments about my writing, bring them on, by all means. :)

Do I have a distinct style of writing?

Honestly, I don’t know. If I do have a style, I don’t think it’s distinct. I really don’t see anything in my own writing that would make it stand out from a crowd, style-wise.

If so, what exactly is it that defines my style?

This may or may not be accurate, but I often perceive my own writing as being overly clinical and to-the-point. I really have to work on being descriptive when I write. It’s a conscious effort. My natural inclination is just to say things as briefly as possible. Also, I think I’m very poor at adding discreet sort of hints and foreshadowing. I write too bluntly for that, I think. Also, I tend to favor third-person-limited POV for nearly everything.

Would you say my stories follow a certain theme?

I think my stories tend to be somewhat sex-heavy. I like writing sex, and I find it relatively easy. I almost never feel embarrassed or awkward about writing sex scene or showing them to other people, so I think this results in a whole lot of porn. *dies*

I also like to focus on emotional trauma of the characters and poke at their old wounds. I definitely love to find really screwed up characters, because that means I will have a whole lot of material to exploit.

Is there anything you feel I ought to improve or change?

I think I’ve improved a great deal since I first started writing creatively. Of course, I was about seven then, so it would have been hard not to improve.

In all seriousness, though, I think I’ve improved greatly within the last year. It’s only been in the last year that I started writing again after not doing so for several years. I also did NaNoWriMo, which had a phenomenal effect on me. I’ve also learned that a good editor is worth their weight in gold, and the help I’ve gotten from me betas has helped me to improve my writing permanently.

Overall, I think I’m a decent, even good, writer. But there is a lot of room for more improvement, and there are a lot of things I wish I did better.

Does my style (if I have one) remind you of anyone else?

I don’t really recognize any obvious similarities between my writing and someone else’s. I do try to emulate the style of writing of authors I admire, and sometimes I do little stylistic experiments where the style changes quite a bit. But my writing doesn’t really remind me of anyone else’s.

Judging from whatever writing of mine that you've seen, what do you think is/are my strength(s)?

This is a tricky question. It’s always easier for me to spot places I could improve than places I’ve done well. I’m not really that hard on myself. I just have a better eye for noticing mistakes. If things are going well, it all melds together and makes it hard for me to pick out exactly what works.

I think I write clearly, which is to say I don’t think my writing is confusing or too bizarre to understand. I think I write sex well, for the reasons I stated above. Also, I think I’ve always been good at moving a story along and transitioning one idea or action into another smoothly.

What do you think are my weaknesses?

I kind of addressed this in the question about what defines my style, but there are a few other things. I often think my characterization is poor, and sometimes my fanfiction is too blatantly out of character.

Also, I worry that my writing can be terribly unoriginal and dull, and not clever at all. I don’t think I’m very gifted at coming up with new and different ideas.

Also, I’ve been curious about what other people like best about my writing. So I’d like to know, what is your favorite fic that I wrote and why? I suppose this may seem self-congratulating or like fishing for compliments, but it really isn’t. I’d like to know what other people think I do well, so I can expand upon it. If you have any thoughts on what I don’t do well, though, please let me know that as well. I am always, always happy to receive concrit.

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This was a good idea, in order to get your thoughts about your writing together! My favourite story of yours was (You and Me) And The Devil Makes Three (and I can't believe I never commented; I'm sometimes airheaded like that...) and I'll tell you why I liked it best.

It was economic of word without being too bare. It was psychologically interesting without trying too hard. It progressed through the issues without being forced. Gojyo was just the right balance of casual and awkward and Hakkai was just the right balance of hopefull and hopeless. The flow was easy and straight-forward, and the dialogue between H & G was simple, and very in-character.

All in all, it looked effortless, which to me means you not only put a fair bit of effort into it, you had the finesse enough to let it do what it wanted where it mattered (if that makes any sense?). If not, then it was inspired and that happens too sometimes, without having to work too hard ;)

I think the points you cited on what defines your style are not necessarily things you should lose. Yes, I personally think you need to be more descriptive, but that's because I regard description as a tool which can connect the reader to what's happening, thereby intensifying impact and effect. But we've already talked about that ^^

What I wanted to say here was consider the way you write now as featuring all your natural strengths - as your style - and then consider how consciously you apply them. If you can apply your to-the-pointness with deliberation for example, and have developed skills enough to know how, where and when you need balance, and what with, I think that's the key. We should always play our strengths, right, but they need to be under our conscious control.

And I don't think there's any reason to worry about being 'clever'. I've agonised about this sort of thing myself, but there's no forcing clever (cause then it's not clever any more) so usually I try to just leave it alone and let my fic take whatever form its trying to head towards. So if you tend towards clear and direct, that's far more worthwhile for you (and sometimes everyone is so busy trying to be clever they miss the obvious). I guess what I mean here is go with your own flow, don't worry about what you're not, and you'll probably find you surprise yourself with what comes out.

eh-heh. Well, that's my opinion anyway (always given when asked - I lose more friends that way ^^; ) Now, if I could just take my own advice... ;)

Ah, thank you very much! Your comments on YAM(ATDMT) were very interesting. I'm glad you thought it was clear and had a good flow. And the fact that it seemed effortless is a very high compliment! (But you're right, it was a troublesome fic that required a lot of work and definitely had it's own idea about what it wanted to say! *laughs*)

And the risk of sounding self-involved, I really like reading your thoughts on my writing. You are both insightful and incisive, and are good at putting into words what I can't. :)

I think you're right; the most important thing for me to work on with my writing right now is not messing around with things too much. I'm fussy when it comes to my writing, and tend to was to toy with every little thing instead of just letting things go and seeing what happens. And that's actually a surprisingly easy thing to practice: I just have to not worry so much! Isn't that nice! *facepalms*

Again, thank you very much for the lovely thoughtful comment.